When a commodity becomes increasingly expensive, market forces will seek or develop alternatives to that product or service. In the case of “energy,” which has taken on the characteristics of a commodity, alternative fuels have yet to receive the price signal needed to flourish. As a result of high oil prices, declining global supply, and a strong global economy, alternative energy is gaining momentum as a commercially viable ‘alternative’ to traditional means of energy production and consumption.  Moreover, from a security and independence standpoint, it is vital for the U.S. to reduce its dependence on foreign firms and countries for energy sources. For example, OPEC controls an estimated 40% of global oil production whereas the U.S. is estimated to hold less than 3% of proven global oil reserves. Finally, concerns over the impact on global warming from the consumption of conventional fuels not only from the production of electric but from auto emissions and industrial production are forcing the exploration and development of the vast array of alternative fuels. The impact of current energy use on the environment has taken on global importance, resulting in numerous investment opportunities outside the United States.             

What is an Alternative Fuel Company?

Conventional fuels, especially for the production of electricity still remain economically dominant. For the purposes of discussion we believe it is critical to define what conventional and alternative fuels are, and, are not. Conventional fuels include:

• Coal & Lignite

• Oil & Natural Gas

• Nuclear

• Hydroelectric

Alternatives fuels are essentially any source of electricity production which is not from the above mention resources. Alternative energy options are many and varied. Below is a list of the major alternative energy options.

• Advanced Nuclear Technologies (specially, Nuclear Fusion)

• Air Pollution Control Devices

• Biodiesel & Biofuels (including Energy Crops)

                       Ethanol

                       Wheat

                       Vegtable Oil

• Biomass & Agricultural Waste (a.k.a. Waste-to-Energy)

                       Animal Slurry Digestion & Litter

                       Food Waste       

                       Municipal & Industrial Waste         

                       Straw

                      Wood & Wood Waste

                      Biopolymers

• Carbon Sequestration

• Coal Gasification (or Syngas)

• Conservation (a.k.a. Demand Side Management)

• Fuel Cells & High Capacity Energy Storage (including Flyweel Energy Storage)

• Geothermal

• Heat Pumps

• Photovoltaics

• Solar Energy

• Wind Energy 

• Tidal Power (a.k.a. Ocean Power & Wave Power)    

The term “alternative fuel” can be broadly defined and, accordingly, investment opportunities can encompass highly specialized span areas within the universe.  The sector is polarized, consisting of large well capitalized companies, having a “conglomerate”-like” profile which are not focused solely on developing pure green energy or alternative energy resources, such as General Electric (total capitalization $739 billion), Chevron Corp. ($140.0 billion), Archer-Daniels Midland ($25 billion). 

At the other end other end of the spectrum are companies with a main emphasis on a particular form of alternative energy. These companies tend to be elemental, and not broadly capitalized, for example, Beacon Power Corp. ($ 11.6 million total capitalization), Plug Power ($289.5 million), and Pacific Ethanol Inc. ($545.6 million).  These companies tend to be extremely speculative, having a substantial mortality rate and volatile trading pattern than conventional energy — namely those readily characterized as coal, oil & gas, nuclear and hydro companies.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY DESCRIPTIONS & TECHNOLOGIES DESCRIPTIONS:

Advanced Nuclear Technologies (specially, Nuclear Fusion)

The process of joining the nuclei of two atoms together. Energy is equal to mass times the speed of light squared. It is easy to see that a small amount of mass can be converted into an enormous amount of energy. Research into controlled fusion, with the aim of producing fusion power for the production of electricity, has been conducted for over 50 years. It has been accompanied by extreme scientific and technological difficulties, and as of yet has not been successful in producing workable designs. the only self-sustaining fusion reactions produced by humans have been produced in hydrogen bombs, where the extreme power of a fission bomb is necessary to begin the process.

Some plans have been put forth to attempt to use the explosions of hydrogen bombs to generate electricity (notably, the PACER Project), yet none of these have moved past the design stage.   The PACER project would absorb the energy of the explosion in a molten salt, which would then be used in a heat exchanger to heat water for use in a steam turbine. In the original fusion-bomb proposal, a huge cavity would be emptied in a salt dome, but further developments used engineered cavities instead. As an energy source, the system is the only one that could be demonstrated to work using existing technology. However it would also require a large, continuous supply of nuclear bombs, making the economics of such a system rather questionable. 

Air Pollution Control Devices

One of the primary pollution control devices are Scrubbers. Scrubber systems are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. Traditionally, the term "scrubber" has referred to pollution control devices that used liquid to "scrub" unwanted pollutants from a gas stream. Recently, the term is also used to describe systems that inject a dry reagent or slurry into a dirty exhaust stream to "scrub out" acid gases. Scrubbers are one of the primary devices that control gaseous emissions, especially acid gases. The exhaust gases of combustion may at times contain substances considered harmful to the environment, and it is the job of the scrubber to either remove those substances from the exhaust gas stream, or to neutralize those substances so that they cannot do any harm once emitted into the environment as part of the exhaust gas stream.

 One side effect of scrubbing is that the process only moves the unwanted substance from the exhaust gases into a solid paste or powder form. If there is no useful purpose for this solid waste, it must be either contained or buried to prevent environmental contamination. Limestone-based scrubbers can produce a synthetic gypsum of sufficient quality that can be used to manufacture drywall and other industrial products.

Wet Scrubbing

A wet scrubber is used to clean air or other gases of various pollutants and dust particles. Wet scrubbing works via the contact of target compounds or particulate matter with the scrubbing solution. Solutions may simply be water (for dust) or complex solutions of reagents that specifically target certain compounds. Wet scrubbers are only effective for mercury removal under certain conditions. Mercury removal results in a waste product that either needs further processing to extract the raw mercury, or must be buried in a special hazardous wastes landfill that prevents the mercury from seeping out into the environment. 

Wet Scrubber methodologies and approaches can also be referred to as:

• Baffle spray scrubber

• Ejector venturi scrubber

• Liquid-to-gas ratio

• Mechanically aided scrubber

• Spray tower

• Spray NozzleVenturi scrubber

• Air Turbo-Impactor

Removal efficiency of pollutants is improved by increasing residence time in the scrubber or by the increase of surface area of the scrubber solution by the use of a spray nozzle, packed towers or an aspirator. Wet scrubbers will often significantly increase the proportion of water in waste gases of industrial processes which can be seen in a stack plume

Dry Scrubbing

A dry or semi-dry scrubbing system, unlike the wet scrubber, does not saturate with moisture the flue gas stream that is being treated. In some cases no moisture is added; while in other designs only the amount of moisture that can be evaporated in the flue gas without condensing is added. Therefore, dry scrubbers do not have a stack steam plume or wastewater handling/disposal requirements. Dry scrubbing systems are used to remove acid gases (such as SO₂ and HCl) primarily from combustion sources.

Scrubbers can be referred to beyond just “wet” and “dry,” for example, other common names for scrubber technology are: Flue gas desulphurization, oil desulphurization, Electrostatic Precipitator: Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) is the current state-of-the art technology used for removing sulfur dioxide (SO₂) from the exhaust flue gases in power plants that burn coal or oil to produce steam for the steam turbines that drive their electricity generators.  Sulfur dioxide is responsible for acid rain formation. Tall flue gas stacks disperse the emissions by diluting the pollutants in ambient air and transporting them to other regions.  Oil desulphurization, also known as Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is a catalytic chemical process widely used to remove sulfur (S) from natural gas and from refined petroleum products such as gasoline or petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel fuel, and fuel oils.  The purpose of removing the sulfur is to reduce the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions that result from using those fuels in automotive vehicles, aircraft, railroad locomotives, ships, gas or oil burning power plants, residential and industrial furnaces, and other forms of fuel combustion. An electrostatic precipitator (ESP), or electrostatic air cleaner is a particulate collection device that removes particles from a flowing gas (such as air) using the force of an induced electrostatic charge. Electrostatic precipitators are highly efficient filtration devices that minimally impede the flow of gases through the device, and can easily remove fine particulate matter such as dust and smoke from the air stream.

Biofuels & Biodiesel (i.e. Energy Crops), Biomass & Agricultural Waste (Waste-to-Energy)

Biofuel can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from biomass. The definition used here is narrower: biofuel is defined as liquid or gas transportation fuel derived from biomass. Biomass can also be used directly for heating or power: this is commonly called biomass fuel: Biomass is material derived from recently living organisms. It includes plants, animals and their by-products. For example, manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass, including manure, garden waste and crop residues. Agricultural products specifically grown for biofuel production include corn and soybeans, primarily in the United States; rapeseed, wheat and sugar beet primarily in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; and palm oil in South-East Asia; Biodegradable outputs from industry, agriculture, forestry and households can be used for biofuel production, either using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas.

Examples Second Generation Biofuel processes  consist of  straw, timber, manure, rice husks, sewage and food waste. The use of biomass fuels can therefore contribute to waste management as well as fuel security and climate change

Biofuel is considered an important means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security by providing a viable alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels are used globally: biofuel industries are expanding in Europe, Asia and the Americas. The most common use for biofuels is in automotive transport (for example E10 fuel). Biofuel can be produced from any carbon source that can be replenished rapidly e.g. plants. Many different plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufactured.

Biodiesel typically refers to a diesel-equivalent processed fuel derived from biological sources (such as vegetable oils) which can be used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. It is thus distinguished from the straight vegetable oils (SVO) or waste vegetable oils (WVO) or animal fats used as fuels in some diesel vehicles. Biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic, and typically produces about 60% less net carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum-based diesel, since Biodiesel fuels are produced from atmospheric carbon dioxide via photosynthesis in plants.

Biopolymers are a class of polymers produced by living organisms, such as starch, proteins and peptides, DNA, and RNA are all examples of biopolymers.  A major but defining difference between polymers and biopolymers can be found in their structures – specifically, Biopolymers inherently have a well defined structure and chemical sequence.

Carbon Sequestration

Carbon Sequestration, also know as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), is an approach to mitigating global warming by capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from large point sources such as power plants and subsequently storing it instead of releasing it into the atmosphere. The merit of CCS systems is the reduction of CO₂ emissions by up to 90%, depending on plant type. Technology for capturing of CO₂ is already commercially available for large CO₂ emitters, such as power plants; Storage of CO₂, on the other hand, is a relatively untried concept and as yet (2007) no power plant operates with a full carbon capture and storage system.

In theory, CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant could reduce CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere by approximately 80-90% compared to a plant without CCS. CCS, however, is a costly and energy intensive process, recently studies indicates that Capturing and compressing CO₂ requires much energy and would increase the fuel needs of a plant with CCS by about 10-40%. In those current estimates place the total cost of energy from a power plant with CCS would be higher by 30-60%.  

Various forms have been conceived for permanent storage of CO₂. These forms include gaseous storage in various deep geological formations (including saline formations and exhausted gas fields), liquid storage in the ocean, and solid storage by reaction of CO₂ with metal oxides to produce stable carbonates. Storage of the CO₂ is envisaged either in deep geological formations or deep ocean geological formations. Further, surface storage capacity is limited and some studies place the potential geological formations able to accommodate CCS emissions at between 10% and 55% of the total carbon mitigation effort until year 2100.

The environmental effects of ocean storage are poorly understood but it is generally believed that the environmental effects are negative and would require more exhaustive study.

As of 2005, three industrial-scale storage projects are in operation. Sleipner is the oldest project (1996).  Located in the North Sea where Norway's, Statoil, the largest petroleum company in the Nordic countries, strips carbon dioxide from natural gas with amine solvents and disposes of this carbon dioxide in a saline formation. The carbon dioxide is a waste product of the field's natural gas production and the gas contains more (9% CO₂) than is allowed into the natural gas distribution network. Storing it underground avoids this problem and saves Statoil hundreds of millions of dollars in avoided carbon taxes. Sleipner stores about one million tonnes CO₂ a year.

Coal Gasification

Coal Gasification is a process that converts carbonaceous materials, such as coal, into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reacting the raw material at high temperatures with a controlled amount of oxygen. The resulting gas mixture is called synthesis gas or syngas and is itself a fuel. Gasification is a very efficient method for extracting energy from many different types of organic materials, and also has applications as a clean waste disposal technique. The advantage of gasification is that using the syngas is more efficient than direct combustion of the original fuel; more of the energy contained in the fuel is extracted. Syngas may be burned directly in internal combustion engines. Gasification can also begin with materials that are not otherwise useful fuels, such as biomass or organic waste.

Almost any type of organic material can be used as the raw material for gasification, such as wood, biomass, or even plastic waste. Thus, gasification may be an important technology for renewable energy. In particular biomass gasification is carbon neutral.

Conservation (a.k.a. Demand Side Management)

Conservation and the term Demand Side Management (DSM) was phrases coined in the 1970s particular just following the 1973 energy crisis (i.e. Arab oil embargo) and became a permanent part of the vernacular in 1979 after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident. This disruption in these 2 fuel supplies, resulted in a focus on alternating the “demand” side of the energy Supply/Demand equitation. By 1979, it became apparent that fossil fuels (coal, oil & natural gas, and nuclear) were in a more finite supply than had been anticipated at the beginning of the decade and, as a result, supervision the Demand side of the energy equation had could play vital role in the managing the supply and cost of energy. Hence, conservation and DSM have become essential alternatives to the green energy initiative. Energy conservation is an important part of lessening climate change by the demand for electricity and thus reducing carbon emissions.

Conservation and DSM are term which can used synonymously, however,  DSM is frequently used to describe entails actions that influence patterns  and quality of energy used, notably such usage patterns targeted at the reduction of peak demand load when energy-supply systems are constrained to the maximum. Peak demand management does not necessarily decrease total energy consumption. It is hoped that used systematically, Conservation and DSM but could be expected to reduce the need for investments in new power plants and, even, infrastructure networks (notably, Transmission & Distribution lines).  Demand side management is also, today, alternative referred to as demand response.

Technologies and Approaches for Demand Reduction & Conservation:

• Smart metering has been implemented in some jurisdictions to provide real-time pricing for all types of users, as opposed to fixed-rate pricing throughout the demand period. In this application, users have a direct incentive to reduce their use at high-demand, high-price periods.

• Shedding load or as it is commonly know, turning down or off certain appliances or sinks (and, when demand is unexpectedly low, potentially increasing usage).

• Time of Day Pricing would set the price of electric a different intervals during the day to match the cost of producing (and, thus, the “real time” cost of consumption) electricity at vary times of the day. The concept involves turning down or off certain appliances when demand is expectedly low, thereby shifting demand to periods when demand would be potentially higher, effectively flattening cost the demand curve in order to reduce the need (i.e. Supply) of electricity. For example, air conditioning, heating or refrigeration may be turned down, delaying slightly the draw until a peak in usage has passed.

Electricity use can vary dramatically on short and medium time frames. Proponents of Conservation & DSM feel that flexible pricing plans aimed at various points on the demand curve, properly and instantaneously reflect the cost as additional higher-cost ("peaking") electric capacity and by reflecting the substantially higher incremental cost of energy at the demand of “peak demand,” consumers will adjust (ideally, reduce energy usage) based on the significant higher cost of the service at the time of peak. This encourages users to flatten their demand for energy. It is hoped that by producing a “real” price signal, the result will be a reduction in demand at the time of “peak” and a shifting of load to less expensive (i.e. from a production perspective) points on the Supply curve. By altering demand to reflect its real elasticity (and therefore “cost” to the consumer), which can vary widely during a day or given time frame, the need for new power plants can be deferred many years, even decades.  

Governments of many countries mandated performance of various programs for demand management after the 1973 energy crisis – the United States  passed the National Energy Conservation Policy Act of 1978. The success of such programs depends on the development of appropriate technology, a suitable pricing system for electricity, and the cost of the underlying technology. In a 2004 report to Congress, it was estimated that by 2007 the potential demand response capability equaled about 20,500 megawatts (MW),  3% of total U.S. peak demand. In 2007, the actual delivered peak demand reduction was about 9,000 MW (1.3% of peak), leaving ample margin for improvement

Fuel Cells & High Capacity Energy Storage

A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. It produces electricity from external supplies of fuel (on the anode side) and oxidant (on the cathode side). These react in the presence of an electrolyte. Generally, the reactants flow in and reaction products flow out while the electrolyte remains in the cell. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained. Fuel cells differ from batteries in that they consume  a reactant  (which must be replenished), while batteries store electrical energy chemically in a closed system. Many combinations of fuel and oxidant are possible. A hydrogen cell uses hydrogen as fuel and oxygen as oxidant. Other fuels include hydrocarbons and alcohols. Other oxidants include air, chlorine and chlorine dioxide

The most common discussed Fuel Cell is the Hydrogen-Fuel Cell. Hydrogen is the lightest, and among the most abundant elements in the universe. To use hydrogen as a fuel, it must be extracted from another substance, such as water or natural gas. For this reason, hydrogen is considered an energy carrier as opposed to an energy source. In order to harness the energy in hydrogen, a fuel cell is required. A fuel cell is similar to a battery that never needs recharging as long as hydrogen is fed into the fuel cell.

The cost of output from fuel cells in 2002, was approximately $1000 per kilowatt of electric power production. The goal is to reduce the cost in order to compete with current market technologies including gasoline internal combustion engines. Many companies are working on techniques to reduce cost in a variety of ways including reducing the amount of platinum needed in each individual cell. Ballard Power Systems have experiments with a catalyst enhanced with carbon silk which allows a 30% reduction in platinum usage without reduction in performance.

Storage systems are seen to provide by far the broadest range of power quality protection.  While storage provides comprehensive protection, it may not be the economic choice for each many customer - accordingly, Industrial consumers may find it to be the best application for reliability purposes. Storage systems have the ability to detect and respond to the energy variability in energy supply delivery on a rapid basis. Given the relatively high cost of installing large scale energy storage facilities, Industrial consumers will find these systems the preferred solution for voltage reduction, under voltages, and power interruptions. At the current stage of development, Residential and small Commercial users will find available storage technologies prohibitively expensive.

One of the storage technologies holding consider promise is that of Flywheels -- a.k.a. Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FES) or "Flywheels".

A flywheel, in essence is a mechanical battery - simply a mass rotating about an axis. Flywheels store energy mechanically in the form of kinetic energy. They take an electrical input to accelerate the rotor up to speed by using the built-in motor, and return the electrical energy by using this same motor as a generator. Certain companies believe that Flywheels will serve as an important component for automobiles and future energy needs. Flywheels are one of the most promising technologies for replacing conventional lead acid batteries as energy storage systems for a variety of applications, including automobiles, economical rural electrification systems, and stand-alone, remote power units commonly used in the telecommunications industry. Recent advances in the mechanical properties of composites has rekindled interest in developing Flywheel technologies for small-scale users, on an economically competitive basis. Illustrated below is an example of a FES:

Flywheel energy storage systems (FES) also offer several important advantages over forms of chemical energy storage. The rate at which energy can be exchanged into or out of the battery is limited only by the generator design. Thereby making it is possible to withdraw large amounts of energy in a far shorter time than with traditional chemical batteries. Feasibility studies are underway assess the ability to quickly charge FES batteries making them desirable for application in electric cars, where the charge time could be dropped from hours to minutes.
 

Geothermal (a.k.a. "Hot Rocks")

Geothermal, sometimes know as "hot rocks" refers to heat sources within the planet. Strictly speaking, geo-thermal necessarily refers to the Earth and uses the planet's internal heat – or what may be called the earth’s “natural radioactive decay.” The approach was originally generated during its accretion, due to gravitational binding energy, and since then additional heat has continued to be generated by the radioactive decay of elements such as uranium, thorium, and potassium. Temperature within the Earth increases with increasing depth and Heat flows constantly from its sources within the Earth to the surface.

Geothermal heat at the surface is highly concentrated where magma is close to the surface. This primarily occurs in volcanic and hotspot areas and at spreading ridge areas. Geothermal systems are some of the most environmentally benign sources of energy. There is 50,000 times more energy in the upper six miles of the earth's crust than in all of the global oil and natural gas reserves combined.

Geothermal heating has frequently been used in recent to refer to the heating and cooling that can be achieved in combination with a Geothermal heat pump. Illustrated above is a complete illustration of a geothermal electric generating system. If heat recovered by ground source heat pumps is included, the generating capacity of geothermal energy is estimated at more than 100 GW (gigawatts of thermal power) and the technology is used commercially in over 70 countries. Prospectively, geothermal offers a very promising option in future environmentally-friendly energy supply and one which has under utilized.

Heat Pumps

Solar Energy Solar energy is captured by solar panels through two main which uses complete different technologies to make use of the energy from the sun. Solar power is a source of energy that uses radiation emitted by the Sun. These are:

Solar Water Heating
Solar hot water systems use sunlight to heat water. Solar Power Solar water heating systems are the most popular form of solar energy. The system is connected to the hot water system and Solar water heating systems can provide over half of a household's hot annual water requirements. Solar water heating is particularly appropriate for low temperature (75-150F) applications such as domestic hot water and swimming pools.  Two types of solar water heating collector are available, these consist of: (1) flat plate and (2) evacuated tubes.

Flat Plate Collectors: Solar water heating panels in their simplest form are made from a sheet of metal painted black, making it a good absorber of solar energy. Solar water heating systems are composed of solar thermal collectors, a storage tank and a circulation loop. Water is fed through the panel in pipes attached to the metal sheet and picks up the heat in the metal. The pipes are often made of copper for better conduction. The metal sheet is embedded in an insulated box and covered with glass or clear plastic on the front and the system is typically installed on the roof.

Evacuated Tubes: The evacuated tube system consists of a series of glass heat tubes grouped together. The tubes are highly insulated, due to a vacuum inside the glass.

Solar Electricity

Solar Cells, is also referred to as photovoltaic cells (PV), are devices or banks of devices that use the photovoltaic effect of semiconductors to generate electricity directly from sunlight. Until recently, their use has been limited because of high manufacturing costs. One cost effective has been use in very low-power devices, such as calculators with LCD's. Another use has been in remote applications such as roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, cathodes protection of pipe lines, and limited "off grid" home power applications.

Finally, PV has been used to powering orbiting satellites and spacecraft. To take advantage of the incoming electromagnetic radiation from the sun, solar panels can be attached to each house or building -- creating an integral part of the PV technology known as an "array." The panels should be mounted perpendicular to the arc of the sun. Total peak power of installed PV is around 6,000 MW as of the end of 2006 (978,020 MWs  Summer Peak Demand in the United States, shaving roughly 0.6% off peak demand) . Installed PV is projected to increase to over 9,000 MW in 2007. 

One the the drawbacks of Solar Power electric generation is the extended pay-back period -- which may take over 10 years to recover depending on: (1) the cost of grid electricity, (2) availability and cost of silicon (a necessary ingredient to the PV) and (3) tax rebates or other Governmental financial incentives. Grid-connected systems - those systems that use an inverter to connect to the utility grid instead of relying on batteries - which currently make up the largest segment of the market. Economies of scale and Federal and State tax incentives will serve as a critical impetus growth to the PV market.  In 2003, worldwide production of solar cells increased by 32%.  Between 2000 and 2004, the increase in worldwide solar energy capacity was an annualized 60%. Reliance on PV in 2005 was expected to see large growth again, but shortages of refined silicon have been hampering production worldwide since late 2004.

Solar Ponds are simply a pools of water which collect and stores solar energy. It contains layers of salt solutions with increasing concentration (and therefore density) to a certain depth, below which the solution has a uniform high salt concentration. It is a relatively low-tech, low-cost approach to harvesting solar energy. The principle is to fill a pond with 3 layers of water: (1) A top layer with a low salt content, (2) An intermediate insulating layer with a salt gradient, which sets up a density gradient that prevents heat exchange by natural convection in the water (3)A bottom layer with a high salt content which reaches a temperature approaching 90 degrees Celsius.

Parabolic Troughs (illustrated on the left) consists of a long row of parabolic mirrors concentrates sunlight on a tube filled with a heat transfer fluid -- usually oil. As with the power tower, this heated oil is used to power a conventional steam turbine, or stored for nighttime use. The largest operating solar power plant, as of 2007, is one of the SEGS parabolic trough systems in the Mojave Desert in California.

Wind Power  

Wind Power  people have used  the power wind of the wind for many years to produce mechanical power for milling grain and pumping water. Wind turbine technology harness wind to generate electricity. The electricity is then exported either to the grid for use locally or may be  used to power a stand alone application. Wind Power energy has the potential for both on shore and off shore applications. Wind power is one of the cleanest and safest of all the renewable commercial methods of generating electricity. Wind power is the conversion of wind into more useful forms, usually electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2006, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 74,223 megawatts -- nevertheless  Wind currently produces just over 1% of world-wide electricity use. In wind friendly regions such as approximately Denmark it accounts for 20% of the electricity produced,  9% in Spain, and 7% in Germany. Globally, wind power has  more than quadrupled the production of electricity between 2000 and 2006. Wind power produces electricity by converting the rotation of turbine blades into electrical current by means of an electrical generator - illustration Wind Tower.

On Grid - and Off-Grid Generation of Electricity

TIDAL POWER (ALSO KNOWN AS "OCEAN POWER" and "WAVE POWER")

The barrage method of extracting tidal energy involves building a barrage and creating a tidal lagoon. The barrage traps a water level inside a basin. When the height of water pressure created outside the basin or lagoon changes relative to the water level inside, the "head" pressure is used to move turbines.

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